number one girl:
by Kid Al
Summary: /"Hey, y'all go on ahead and celebrate without me, alright? I'll join you guys some other time. It's late and, well… I've got a date with my number one girl tomorrow."/ In which a sixteen-year-old Konohamaru spends the day with his young cousin, Mirai. After all, who else could his number one girl be? - One-shot. Focuses on family fluff. Some implied pairings present.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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**#1 Girl.**

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"Hey, y'all go on ahead and celebrate without me, alright? I'll join you guys some other time. It's late and, well… **I've got a date with my number one girl tomorrow**."

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The sixteen-year-old took a deep breath. He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair one final time before rapping smartly on the door and taking a step back.

"Hello. How do you do?" greeted the boy once the door swung open. "I'm here to pick up–"

"**Kono-oniichan!"**

The teenager didn't even have time to brace himself when his cousin barrelled into him, nearly knocking him down when she crashed into his legs. With a hearty chuckle, Konohamaru scooped the little girl up and planted a couple of playful kisses on her cheek.

Kurenai did her best to quash her bubbling laughter, knowing that her nephew would stop the moment he realised exactly how embarrassing he was being. After all, Konohamaru isn't the only guy that Mirai has wrapped around her finger.

"Hello, gorgeous," Konohamaru finally greeted.

Mirai giggled, wiping at her cheek with a clumsy hand. The boy then swooped in and blew a raspberry on the little girl's other cheek before looking up at Kurenai. "You look lovely, too, obasan."

"That's unusually polite of you," teased the woman in reply. She tilted her head and eyed her nephew critically, pretending to be wary.

Konohamaru laughed out loud.

"Well," he began, "I am borrowing your daughter for the day after all."

To Mirai, he added: "What do you say, huh, kiddo? Wanna spend the day out with your Kono-oniichan?"

"Yeah!" the four-year-old cheered. "I can go play with Kono-oniichan, right, mama? Please?"

Kurenai made a show of thinking before giving in and saying, "Alright, but go get ready first please."

Mirai rushed to give her mother a quick hug around the legs before scurrying off. Kurenai and Konohamaru took it as an opportunity to ready Mirai's things for the outing. They were barely done when the little girl rushed back to them, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

"Wow! You picked your clothes and changed all by yourself, Mirai-chan. Good work."

"Of course," the little girl giggled. "I'm a big girl now, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are, Mirai-chan," Konohamaru agreed. "Your clothes are pretty."

"It's an occasion!" announced Mirai before looking to her mother. "Did I say that right, mama? An occasion?"

"Yes, Mirai-chan, but what's the occasion?"

"It's Mirai's first training session with Kono-oniichan!" the child said, clapping her hands together at the end. In her excitement, Mirai didn't seem to have noticed the disapproving look that her mother sent her cousin's way.

Konohamaru flinched at the stern look on the grown woman's face. He rubbed at the back of his neck and muttered, "That's not– I didn't mean _real_ training. We're really just playing."

Kurenai sighed and shook her head. Mirai, Kurenai knew, was quite the little tomboy at times; Konohamaru was probably just humouring his young cousin. "Just go on, you two. Have fun and stay safe, alright?"

With a firm nod of his head, Konohamaru shrugged Mirai's bag onto his left shoulder and took the little girl's hand in his right. "We'll see you in the evening, oba-san."

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"_Kono-oniichan, why does our name mean 'monkey jumps'?"_

"Because that's what monkeys do, Mirai-chan; they jump from tree to tree. It's something they're good at."

"_But squirrels are good at jumping, too, aren't they? Why aren't we called 'squirrel jumps' instead?"_

"Because '_Risutobi_' doesn't sound quite as cool with our given names, don't you think?"

"_Yeah…"_

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The curiosity of a young child was equal parts endearing and trying, Konohamaru decided. Mirai was seated on the chuunin's shoulder, taking advantage of her cousin's recent growth spurt and strength as they made their way to the local park. Her tiny hands clasped the sides of the teen's head, and his larger hands, in turn, gripped the child's calves to steady her.

The little girl babbled away happily, frequently asking questions about anything and everything under the sun. She posed questions about the trees and the ever-changing colours of their leaves; she wondered about the conversations that birds might have and if she could learn to speak their language of chirps and tweets; she asked about the busy bees and how they dance amongst the flowers; she queried about the need for night and day, discussing the different things that people do when it is dark and when it is bright.

Konohamaru found the whole thing rather challenging. He wasn't exactly dumb – or so he hoped – but answering Mirai's one thousand and one questions has his head spinning. The girl's appetite for knowledge was insatiable. Thank goodness that the girl was only four; he could foresee the task growing tougher with time as Mirai learned to see through his bullshit. He shuddered at the thought, making the child on his shoulders giggle at the sudden jerk.

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"…_Kono-oniichan?"_

"Yes, Mirai-chan?"

"_Why do we only see fireworks at night?"_

"Well, fireworks are kind of bright; it's easier to see them against a dark background than a light one. It would be a shame to set them off during the day, I guess."

"_Oh, I see… Why are the characters for fireworks made up of the words 'flower' and 'fire'?"_

"You put gunpowder and stuff in fireworks so they explode in the sky and emit sparks, hence the 'fire' character, I think."

"_Uh-huh?"_

"As for the 'flower' character… Fireworks kind of look like flowers in the sky when they go off, don't they? They're as pretty as flowers, too, in my opinion."

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"Here we are."

Mirai waited patiently while her cousin stretched and yawned. She looked up at her _onii-chan_ expectantly, excitement brewing in those crimson eyes that were so much like her mother's. The girl's hands were linked behind her back, and she was swaying slightly on the spot. Her lips were pressed together in a smile, revealing the slight overbite that made her all the more adorable in her cousin's eyes.

Konohamaru cracked a grin. "Let's begin, shall we?"

The brunet made quick work of extracting a foam ball from the backpack they had brought along. He gave the ball a squeeze before tossing it to the little girl, who grabbed it with both her hands. The four-year-old flashed a quick smile in response to the applause and planted the ball firmly on the ground. She pulled her leg back and gave the ball a mighty kick, sending the ball Konohamaru's way.

The ball was sent back and forth between the two for quite some time before Mirai decided that she has had enough of a warm-up. With a cheeky smile plastered across her face, the little girl turned around and kicked the ball away from Konohamaru. She turned around to blow a raspberry at Konohamaru before chasing after the ball.

"Hey!" Konohamaru called out after her, taking off at a jog as well. All that he got in response were peals of laughter.

He made a make-shift goal post out of his sandals and encouraged the child to try and score there. It was a pretty tough match for him. He prided himself on treating his cousin like an equal as much as he could but he knew that he would have to throw the game sometimes to keep Mirai from getting frustrated. It made him feel horrible and dishonest; he hated going against his beliefs. But with the debate going on in his head and him being pretty dung at multi-tasking, he needn't have worried in the first place because Mirai got a couple of good shots in on her own accord, and that was enough to keep the kid happy.

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"How about a juice break, Mirai-chan?" suggested Konohamaru when the little girl reclaimed the lead. It occurred to him after a long bout of play that the little one was starting to tire out and that he should be keeping her hydrated in this heat. He also knew from experience that a tired child was a cranky child, and that he would rather not have to deal with a fussy Mirai.

It was quite a relief to Konohamaru when she agreed readily to his idea, leading him by the hand towards the shade of a large tree. Mirai might be a well-behaved child but she could be a little unpredictable at times. He smiled as he handed her a juice box, silently thanking her for being on her best behaviour. She beamed right back at him.

She kicked her feet happily as she sipped on her drink. Konohamaru took the opportunity of the break to mop the sweat off Mirai's face and neck. He was almost done when she exclaimed:

"Put my hair up, Kono-oniichan!"

Konohamaru blinked at her request. "Umm… Okay. How do you want your hair done?"

"Just put it up the way you usually do, onii-chan."

Truth be told, the usual way he put her hair up was likely the only way he knew how to put her hair up given its current short length. Konohamaru silently drew an elastic band from the side pocket of the backpack and raked his fingers through her hair gently. Mirai had inherited her mother's curls, and that made Konohamaru all the more careful when dealing with the little girl's hair; he was afraid that his fingers might get caught in Mirai's hair and cause her pain. He towelled the girl's thick, dark hair off and unknotted any tangles that he found. Mirai, on the other hand, giggled at the sight of her cousin; she thought the way his tongue poked out just a little when he focused on the task at hand was rather funny.

Konohamaru gathered Mirai's bangs in her left hand while his right hand adroitly manipulated the elastic band. He had fumbled so much the first time he tied his cousin's hair that it had been a miracle that the child wasn't in tears at the end of the session. He smiled when he remembered that the hairstyle Mirai wore to Naruto's wedding was all his doing.

The girl, who had barely begun to speak coherently at the time, had asked him to style her hair out of the blue and the stunned fourteen-year-old that he was at the time complied with the request in a daze. This very hairstyle was the only way he knew how to put her hair up at the time. What a noob. It had surprised Konohamaru when she refused to let him fix the mess by taking the elastic band out of her hair, choosing instead to parade that childish hairstyle around Naruto's wedding.

"All done," he announced, patting her hair down. Mirai chirped a word of thanks to him before going back to playing with the grass.

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"Do you want to continue with our game of football, Mirai-chan?"

The little girl shook her head. She pointed up at the tree they were sitting under and asked, "Do you know how to climb a tree, onii-chan?"

The shinobi nodded his head warily, already having an idea about the request that would tumble out of the girl's mouth soon enough.

"I want to learn how to climb a tree, Kono-oniichan. Will you teach me how to climb a tree please?"

There it was. Konohamaru ran a hand through his hair and said, "I don't know about that, Mirai-chan. Your mother might not be pleased if I did; tree-climbing isn't exactly safe."

It felt terrible to refuse Mirai. Her bottom lip would jut out just a little to pull her lips into a pout and her expressive eyes would betray all the disappointment welled up in her tiny being. Konohamaru hated to say no to Mirai; he found the experience rather torturous.

"Why not?" asked Mirai. There was a hint of a whine in her tone.

"Well, how are you going to get down when you're up there?" replied Konohamaru with a question of his own. "And what if you fall? Falling from a tree hurts a lot. I should know; I chipped a tooth falling out of a tree when I was a little bit older than you are now."

Mirai crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted but she nodded her understanding nevertheless. She did try to get one last shot in, however.

"But you're here, Kono-oniichan. You won't let anything bad happen to me, right?"

Konohamaru inhaled sharply at those words. It felt as if an invisible hand had wrapped itself around his heart and given it a squeeze. The faith that Mirai had in him to keep her safe was so strong... He would never admit it but he was touched by her trust. He sighed; being mature and responsible sucked.

"You're absolutely right, Mirai-chan," Konohamaru began, looking Mirai firmly in the eye. "I would do anything to keep you safe, and the best way for me to do that right now is to keep you here with me on the ground."

Mirai looked like she was about to begin sulking when he continued: "But I promise you that I will personally teach you how to climb trees someday, when you're older. How about that, huh?"

"Really?"

"Yes," he said, "really."

"Thank you," said Mirai. There was still some sadness in her eyes but she mustered a small smile for him.

He smiled right back.

"Now, come on," he said, getting up and helping the little girl to her feet. "I heard your stomach growling earlier, so let us go and get some eats."

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It was only with her cousin Konohamaru that Mirai could get away with eating _soba_ at her Konohamaru's favourite lunchtime hangout. Her mother wasn't exactly a big fan of noodles but _Ramen Ichiraku_ was quick becoming her favourite eatery, too.

"Teuchi-san," Konohamaru called out. "I'm sorry for ruining your hard work but I really need to cut Mirai-chan's noodles so that she can eat them."

The old man simply waved it off in understanding - having once been there with his own daughter - and offered to snip the noodles into bite-sized pieces for the little girl. She happily dug into the dish, thoroughly enjoying the flavourful meat broth, crunchy corn pieces, tender meat slices and bits of dried seaweed. She hummed in contentment.

"My, how much she's grown," commented Teuchi. "She eats so well and can feed herself now."

Konohamaru smiled and agreed.

"Mirai-chan, please slow down. The soup is still quite hot," Konohamaru warned before beginning on his own meal. On reflex, he reached over and wiped Mirai's mouth with her bib.

"You're getting quite good at taking care of her, Konohamaru," complimented the establishment's owner. "The meal's on me – a treat for your hard work."

"Teuchi-san, I couldn't possibly–"

"You can and you will," said Teuchi firmly. "Now eat up, boy."

"Teuchi-san… Thank you," said Konohamaru.

The middle-aged man just shook his head and said, "Don't mention it. After all, I'm depending on your family and Naruto's to keep the business booming."

Konohamaru paused with his noodles raised partway to his mouth, raising an eyebrow in question. He couldn't help but feel that there was some sort of an implication behind that statement…

"I'm just kidding, boy."

The brunet nodded uncertainly and continued with his meal. Mirai remained oblivious to the exchange the entire time.

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Once the two was fed and watered, they left _Ramen Ichiraku_ with a word of thanks to Teuchi in favour of spending the afternoon lazily wandering the streets of Konoha. Mirai was calmer now but she was still in a good enough mood to jabber away about this, that and everything in between. At least she wasn't bombarding him with questions, Konohamaru mused.

He lifted the little girl up by her hands and she immediately placed each of her feet on top of his, as she had done a million times before. They walked quite a stretch like that. Their progress was slow, and it hurt Konohamaru's feet a little bit, but Mirai was having the time of her life. Her cousin was the only person willing to make a fool of himself shuffling along awkwardly like a father penguin so that she could have a few laughs.

They passed by the rebuilt _Yamanaka Hana_, drawing a good-natured laugh and wave from Ino. Konohamaru paused and grinned broadly, guiding Mirai's hands into a double-handed wave. He then hobbled his way towards the shop.

"Hello, Mirai-chan!" said Ino in a cheery voice as she traded greetings with her teacher's daughter. She then picked the child up and handed her a stray orchid flower to play with.

To Konohamaru, the blonde said, "Looks like someone's readying himself for the future."

The sly grin on the Yamanaka woman's face made him frown. He chose his words carefully and said, "Umm, I guess. Any kid of Naruto-niichan's going to be quite the handful. And knowing my luck, I'll probably end up being the brat's babysitter."

"Right," Ino drawled. "And the flowers that you bought last week…?"

"They were meant as a sign of respect," insisted the teenager in a firm voice. "And if you don't mind, I would like another bouquet today. We were slowly making our way to the third training ground to pay oji-san a visit, anyway."

Ino's smirk only grew. Bouncing Mirai a little, she added:

"And are you sure you would like to bring Asuma-sensei the same bouquet you purchased the last time?"

That finally got under Konohamaru's skin. The elder of the Sarutobi coughed into his hand and tugged at his scarf. A prickling feeling was inching its way up his neck.

"Probably not," he finally admitted, gaze downcast.

Ino laughed and gave him a pat on the back for good measure. She placed Mirai on the counter before asking, "How about one with alstroemeria and forget-me-nots, instead?"

"Yes, please. Thank you."

The blonde went about preparing the bouquet when Konohamaru asked, "And is it alright if Mirai-chan used your restroom here? It would save me the trouble of having to ask a female stranger to watch Mirai-chan when she goes into the female restrooms."

"Sure, go on ahead."

He chuckled to himself as he led Mirai to the back by the hand. Konohamaru had only stepped forward to take a more active role in Mirai's life when the girl was about two years old. It was a decision he had made back at Naruto's wedding. Little Mirai-chan had taken to her then-estranged cousin brother immediately, and it took the wedding atmosphere to sink it into Konohamaru's head just how important family was. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say the he really began growing up that day, finally stepping up to the plate as the sole Sarutobi man descending from the _Sandaime Hokage_'s lineage.

Well, he was rather thankful that Mirai was over and done with diapers when he first started spending time with her – it saved him a lot of awkwardness, that's for sure. Still, he was at wit's end the first time Mirai had asked him to take her to the bathroom. She could go by herself, but Kurenai had told him earlier on that someone should at least watch the door when Mirai went. Konohamaru was then left in a dilemma: which bathroom should he take his cousin to?

But that had been more than a year ago, and he liked to think that he had grown quite a bit since then. He lifted Mirai up to wash her hands in the sink once she was done with the washroom. Konohamaru then led Mirai back out to the front to collect the flowers, thanking Ino on the way out.

"Bye!" Mirai called out, skipping merrily by her cousin's side.

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Mirai placed the flowers beside another similar bouquet that was already there at the memorial stone. From the choice of flowers present, Konohamaru could deduce that at least one member of Team Asuma had paid the memorial stone a visit earlier that day. He offered a small smile before guiding Mirai in prayer.

Konohamaru remembered pointing out the names of his uncle and grandfather to Mirai the first time they visited the memorial stone together. It was a preference of his to pay a visit to the memorial stone rather than the cemetery. The graves of their relatives were scattered across the grounds at the cemetery whereas the names of his ancestors could easily be found on the memorial stone. Maybe it was the close proximity of the names engraved into the stone but he couldn't help but feel a sense of togetherness here. A quick once-over of the stone would reveal the names of his grandfather, his uncle, his parents…

He encouraged Mirai to talk to her father, reassuring her that Asuma could hear her just fine. He carried out his own quiet monologue with the memory of his relatives while Mirai chattered noisily by his side, telling her father all about her day and the new experiences she has made since her last visit. Konohamaru sat silently and listened to Mirai when he ran out of things to say, learning quite a bit from the child's prattle. He learned that Shikamaru has finally gotten around to try and put a ring on it, and of the new litter of puppies that Akamaru had sired, and other things of the same ilk. Some were news to him, others weren't, but it was nice to just listen to the purity in the way Mirai spoke. He knew that it was impossible to keep Mirai so innocent all her life but he would be damned if he didn't try to prolong it.

'_This I promise you, oji-san._'

"Mirai-chan, we'll have to leave soon or we'll miss watching the sunset from the Hokage Monument," he called, extending a hand towards Mirai.

The little girl laughed as she tried to pull her cousin up by his hand but Konohamaru refused to budge.

"Come _on_, Kono-oniichan," she squealed, tugging as hard as she could at Konohamaru's hand with both of her own. "We've gotta go!"

He merely reeled her in and tossed her skywards, catching her on the way down. It made Konohamaru laugh seeing how much she enjoyed that. The teenager blew a raspberry on her cheek before saying, "Okay. We're ready to go."

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The path up the Hokage Monument was a long one. Konohamaru already knew beforehand that it would be a challenge for Mirai to scale up the seemingly endless flights of stairs. To her credit, Mirai made more than half the journey on her own two feet before giving in to fatigue. Konohamaru didn't mind giving Mirai a piggyback ride the rest of the way. Mirai was so hesitant to admit that she was tired that Konohamaru didn't have the heart to give her a hard time over it. His cousin really was Asuma and Kurenai's daughter – stubborn down to the very last bit. It was kind of tough to make her drink up frequently as well.

The two Sarutobi reached the highest part of the Hokage Monument – the balcony hidden behind the _Sandaime_'s hair – only to find that they were not alone.

"Hinata-oneechan!" Mirai called out, wriggling on Konohamaru's back in a bid to get her cousin to put her down. She raced over to the elder of the Hyuuga sisters.

The young girl tilted her head as she surveyed the stranger. "Hello, my name is Mirai. Who are you?"

The teenage girl crouched low to meet Mirai's eyes. She said, "Hello, Mirai-san. I'm Hanabi. It's nice to meet you."

"Hanabi?" Mirai echoed. She suddenly exclaimed, "Kono-oniichan was right! You really are pretty!"

The male Sarutobi had the decency to duck his head in embarrassment.

"That's not it," he protested weakly. "We were talking about fireworks – not that you're not pretty, Hanabi, because you are."

He gave up and slapped a hand over his face. "I'm shutting up now."

"Don't mind him. Kono-oniichan is just acting a little strange is all," chirped Mirai with a carefree smile on her face.

Konohamaru's blunder made Hinata press a hand to her mouth to supress her laughter. She scooped Mirai up and began a conversation with the little girl, showing her the sights from the balcony. Konohamaru took a step in their direction before stopping abruptly. Hinata probably wanted to spend some time with Mirai, too, given the close friendship between Kurenai and Hinata. In fact, Konohamaru was pretty convinced that Hinata dotes on Mirai a lot as well. They would be fine without him.

Besides, it would be rude to just leave the Hyuuga heiress on her on without really having said a word to her, wouldn't it?

He gave his scarf a quick tug before saying, "Umm. Hey."

"Hey," replied the fourteen-year-old opposite him. An amused smile played on her lips as she added, "Eloquent as ever, I see."

Konohamaru sent her a good-natured grin, slipping a hand into his pocket. "You know I'm rubbish when speaking to women."

"Nonsense," said Hanabi, rolling her eyes in jest. "With the way you're acting, it's almost like you're surprised to see me."

He scoffed at her accusation. "I'm an actively-serving shinobi of Konohagakure. Nothing surprises me."

The boy managed to keep the serious look on his face for all of three seconds before the two of them dissolved into chuckles.

"It's really been awhile," said Konohamaru. "The last time we've seen each other face-to-face was–"

"–the celebratory meal after the Chuunin Examinations," she finished the sentence, nodding her head. Hanabi offered him a smile. "I remember."

"Yeah…" Konohamaru trailed off, looking away into the distance. A second had barely passed before his dark eyes snapped back to focus on Hanabi.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, startling Hanabi in the process. "We're missing the sunset. Come on."

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"She fell asleep," murmured Hinata to Konohamaru as she carefully handed the four-year-old over to him.

Konohamaru nodded, taking the little girl into his arms. "I guess I should take her home, then. She must have been tired. Would you like to join us, onee-san? Kurenai-obasan would like having you over."

Hinata shook her head. She had a small, apologetic smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Konohamaru-kun, but I have plans made for this evening."

The teenager nodded his head in understanding. He knew for a fact that Naruto was finally getting off guard duty later that evening. He really wouldn't hold it against the woman if she wanted to spend time with her husband.

It happened so quickly that he might have imagined it but Konohamaru thought he saw Hinata steal a glance at her younger sister before adding, "But Hanabi-chan could accompany you if you like. You said that you weren't doing anything later, didn't you, Hanabi-chan?"

Hanabi nodded. "You are right, Hinata-neesama. I was about to make my way back to the family compound."

"There you go," Hinata concluded with a smile. "Is that fine with you, Konohamaru-kun?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess."

"Now I'm really sorry but I've got to go," said Hinata with a bow to the two teenagers. "Send my best to Kurenai-sensei, please."

"Will do," said Konohamaru, readjusting little Mirai in his arms. "Take care, onee-san."

Hinata left soon after that, leaving the two teenagers to trade glances with one another. Konohamaru shrugged and tilted his head in the direction that he was going. Hanabi nodded her understanding, and they wordlessly began their journey.

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"She's getting kind of heavy, isn't she? I can take her back if you like."

Hanabi wrinkled her nose at offer, shifting the little girl in her arms. She had offered to carry the little girl and Konohamaru had relented. He taught the Hyuuga heiress the proper way to hold Mirai and had adjusted her grip a couple of times, just to make sure that his cousin was comfortable.

"It's fine, thanks. She doesn't weigh much at all."

And it was true. Hanabi was strong despite her petite frame, having been brought up as a ninja. In fact, she found Mirai's weight on her chest rather comforting. She was doing pretty well for someone holding a young child for the first time, if she may say so herself.

Konohamaru nodded. A silence passed between the two youths.

"So, umm," Konohamaru began in a whisper, "does your sister know about…?"

His fellow chuunin's slender eyebrows pulled together in a frown at his question. It took her a moment before she recognised the turn in their conversation.

"I don't know," admitted Hanabi. "I've never said a word about it but I don't think I need to. She's very intuitive about these things, you know? Maybe it's a sisterly bond or something."

"Oh, I see."

They continued walking. The nights in Konohagakure were pretty nice – in Konohamaru's opinion, at least. The air was cool, and the streets were moderately well-lit. He liked that it wasn't bright enough to hurt his eyes or hide the stars in the night sky. He looked skywards, mapping out some of the more familiar constellations.

Hanabi knew that he was avoiding her.

"Why?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

He exhaled slowly. "Ino suspects something, I guess, because of the flowers I bought. She probably thinks that they were for Moegi, though – seeing as I'm in Moegi's company pretty often."

At the mention of flowers, Hanabi couldn't help but raise a question.

"What's with the flowers, anyway? You don't seem like the type of guy–"

"I've always wanted to buy flowers for someone, actually," Konohamaru asserted with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

She quirked an eyebrow in response to his confession.

"And you thought that it would be a good idea to send them to me – your alleged best friend?"

Konohamaru rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, yeah. Who else would I send them to?"

"Oh, I don't know – Moegi, perhaps?" tried Hanabi. "Your _childhood_ best friend?"

The brunet snorted, running a hand through his hair.

"Why would I do that?" he asked. "Half the town already thinks I'm dating her, and the other half thinks that she's with Udon; I'd hate to stir up a ship-war. Like, come on – our private lives are supposed to be _private_, for goodness' sake!"

Hanabi waited for him to catch his breath before asking, "Feel better after your rant?"

"Yeah, loads," Konohamaru agreed. "And now that I've gotten that off my chest, I'm actually kind of hungry. Join me for dinner after?"

The Hyuuga heiress tapped at her lip with a finger. There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes when she said, "Oh, I don't know… I told the elders that I would be spending the day with Hinata-neesama."

"And I told my teammates that I've got a date with my number one girl," retorted the boy. "We're not exactly lying, are we? Come on, it'll be fun. I could really use some fun after that month-long assignment as a bodyguard to some teenaged brat."

Hanabi bit back a smile and hummed in agreement. "Sure, why not."

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"_**You cradle-snatcher!"**_

Konohamaru nearly jumped out of his skin before he realised that his aunt's student – Kiba? – was the one to sling an arm across his shoulders. The Inuzuka man was lucky that Konohamaru hadn't attacked on reflex.

The Sarutobi balked, pulling a face as he did. He snapped back in a harsh whisper: "Excuse _you_ – she's my cousin!"

"You and I both know that's not what we're talking about, kid."

The younger of the two men wiped away any emotion that might have been on his face.

"I don't know what you mean," said Konohamaru in perfect deadpan. "And if you don't keep it down, you'll wake Mirai up."

Kiba scoffed and patted Konohamaru on the back. "You can lie to me, kid, but you can't lie to the ol' Inuzuka snout."

The Sarutobi's dark eyes narrowed into a glare. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I was just on my way to hand over some documents to Kurenai-sensei, but you wouldn't helping me out, would you?" asked Kiba with a sly grin. "We can both go off on our merry ways quickly if you do. After all, I've got people to meet as well. It wouldn't do to keep them waiting. We are gentlemen, am I right? "

A vein throbbed in Konohamaru's forehead.

"Fine," he growled, snatching the envelope from Kiba's grip. "Now will you please get lost?"

Kiba held his hands up in surrender and backed away from the disgruntled boy.

"Calm down, kid. I'm just joking."

Konohamaru merely rolled his eyes in response. He would have flipped the guy off if his hands weren't occupied.

"And for the record, Ino didn't once think that those flowers were for Moegi. I never bothered helping her conclude her hypothesis."

"Kiba? Please just go."

Konohamaru could hear Kiba's snickers ringing in his ears long after the man left.

.

.

.

The teenaged Sarutobi couldn't help but place a kiss on Mirai's forehead before handing her over to her mother. He left after trading goodbyes with his aunt, pausing once on the pavement to squeeze in one final wave.

Konohamaru let out a sigh and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He kicked at a stray pebble before continuing on his way.

It had been a fulfilling day out with his cousin, he thought with a smile. It was a shame that the evening came quite so fast.

Ah, well. The night was still young.

:::

End.

:::


End file.
